Shark Attacks Santa Barbara Man on Fishing Kayak

We’ve seen shark attacks of all kinds this summer, mostly on the east coast. Well now California is getting into the action. A recent close-call by a man in a fishing kayak proves just how dangerous these predators can become.

Santa Barbara resident Connor Lyon, 22, was fishing from a kayak with a buddy in the early morning hours off the coast of Gaviota when suddenly his kayak was attacked by a 13-foot shark, likely a great white.

“All of a sudden… kaboom,” Lyon told KSBY television. “The shark came up from underneath. It grabbed onto the front end and started thrashing and shaking.”

Sea lions were in the area and so were squid fishermen, so Lyon wasn’t too surprised that a shark was around now that he has time to decompress from the sudden shock.

Lyon’s buddy, Mason Reepmaker told KEYT TV he could see the immense shark attacking his friend. “The next thing you know, there was a huge fin a dorsal fin, and then the tail came up,” he told the station. “Then this huge black body thrashing around next to him. And then we said ‘Oh my God!”

The shark actually flipped Lyon off his kayak at which point he young man struggled to get back on the vessel and screamed for help. The shark, likely realizing the unsavory qualities of hard plastic, turned and swam away while nearby fishermen and Lyon’s fishing buddy came to his rescue.

In the end, Lyon seemed unfazed. “Whether he thought I was prey or if he was just bummed, I was hanging out in his loctum,” he told KEYT. “I am not bummed he came after me.”

Despite an uptick in shark attacks this summer, research actually indicates your chances of becoming victim are slimmer than ever. You essentially have a greater chance of winning the lottery or getting hit by lightning.